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Interview: Guyana Marathon

14 Jun, 2015 (Sun)
Credit : Guyana (Lost World) Marathon

On November 14th 2015, you’ll be organizing the Guyana (Lost World) Marathon. Can you tell us where it is located?

The Guyana Marathon, Half & 10K is located in beautiful Santa Aratack Mission village, near Georgetown, Guyana. South America’s only English Speaking country which borders Brazil, Venezuela and Suriname.

How old is the race and why was it created in the first place?

This is our inaugural race. A few local athletes and a couple of expatriates loved running in the trails behind the Santa Mission Community saw a great need in the community to help the school and to help them preserve their traditional amerindian way of life. So the athletes decided to organize a marathon as a charity event to help the school and the community. This race is set to highlight the Amerindian community and to bring awareness to their way of life. 100% of the proceeds will go towards the local amerindian elementary school.

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What kind of route have you set up for the runners? How would you describe it?

The routing is all soft trails and some dirt roads that have been around for years. Those dirt roads were originally created by miners and loggers and which the Amerindian community has used for a number of decades. The trails are mostly flat with some small hills. Most of the trails are in a primary forest with trees covering the surroundings, so it will be very cool even in the middle of the day. There will be plenty of markings and the entire community has volunteered to guide the runners and to be spectators.

What are the distances on the agenda?

The race will have a full marathon, half marathon and a 10K. All distances are loops, with little to no repeats. The race profiles will be on our web site within the next two months.

How many runners do you expect on Saturday morning? What type of runners do you plan to attract?

The race will be capped at 200 runners, with a few exceptions. We expect to fill this before September. So far most interest is international runners from the United States, Canada and adjoining countries of Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Brazil.

We also have three elite runners confirmed to run – Rafael Maioral from Brazil and two undisclosed runners from Kenya. We also have Carifta’s best runners confirmed such as Cleveland Forde, Alika Morgan, Kelvin Johnson, and possibly others.

At that time of the year, what kind of weather can we expect?

There are really only two temperatures in Guyana, cool 80 degrees most year round and some rains in December and July. We expect November to be dry and cool, average temperature late 70s to early 80s and sunny. We anticipate some rain, but hopefully not much.

Have you planned festivities around the event?

The Pasta Dinner will be a highlight the day before, which will be held at the newly built Marriott Hotel in Georgetown, Guyana. The pasta dinner will be a Q&A with elite athletes. Marriott Georgetown Guyana is also our host hotel and core sponsor. Marriott Hotel will also host the bib-pick up at the hotel where you can expect to have local businesses present their product.

After the race at the award ceremony the Amerindian Community is preparing to host some dances and local cultural presentations for all participants present. This should be a very fun filled day learning and spending time in the village.

I should add that the Marriott Georgetown has offered special rates at $115 per room for participants only – this is full service high class hotel so it should be well worth the experience. Buses will depart the hotel early in the morning.

Credit : Guyana (Lost World) Marathon

The race finished, what advice would you give a runner who has never been to Georgetown before? A good restaurant, a fancy sightseeing?

Oh man! Come to Guyana and see untouched amazing beauty of the Amazon, the jungles, the eco-tourism. You can take day tours to the tallest single drop water fall – Kaieteur Falls, and combine it with places like Orinduik Falls, Baganara Island. You can venture out to Iwokrama Rainforests if you would like to stay an extra few days. We expect most people will venture out to the interior of Guyana to see the eco-tourism villages and sites that are the inspiration to a number of Lost World films.

Or if you wish you can stay and enjoy Georgetown with their flair of Caribbean and east indian cuisine. Check out the markets, go canoeing, fishing. Guyana is truly an adventurer’s paradise.

In a single sentence, what would you tell the readers of ahotu Marathons to make them register for the Guyana (Lost World) Marathon?

Come and run the most unique, adventure filled race of your lifetime and make an impact in the lives of the local Amerindian children.

Credit : Guyana (Lost World) Marathon

Interview with Sevak Tsaturyan. Sevak a US expatriate living in Guyana who is passionate about endurance sports. His goal has always been to run a marathon in every country in the world. As there was none in Guyana, he decided to help organize one!

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